How can you tell if someones depressed just by looking at them or even talking to them?

Question

How can you tell if someones depressed just by looking at them or even talking to them?

Answer 1

You can't.

Answer 2

u can tell because of wat there waring, like there facial expression. of the colors. if they were long sleaves alot, the best guess is tht they cutt themselfs, witch it not good! and how they tlk. yes u can definatly tell if they r having problibls wit life.

Answer 3

I dont think you can tell just by looking at them. By talking to them, you should look to pick up on things like " i spend all day sleeping, or i get 1 maybe 2 hours sleep daily" other things such as "im a failure" or "i dont deserve to be happy" most obvious is having a pre-occupied with death or talks about not wanting to live. Showing lack of intrest in things they used to have intrest in before. Irratable and mood swings. Perhps even doing things that seem irrational or irresponable. This list is not exaustive or is not to imply that there isnt any other signs that are linked to depression, but these are however some things that you can look for.

Answer 4

I know the answer because someone who barely knows me knew my Mother and talked to her first thing..."She's depressed isn't she."  I asked her how he knew.  It was the difference in me it was not my actions.  He knew just by seeing me.The difference in me  I didn't feel ok.  I didn't fix up my hair the same and do my makeup like as when he had seen me before.  He always saw me in a skirt and I was wearing pants.  I always smiled at people and I was not smiling. I walked  with confidenca but then I was walking slower.  I greeted people and responded when they greeted me.  I didn't greet anyone then and had little to say when they said "Hi! how are you?"

It is the power of observation!  The personal changes.

Answer 5

People that are depressed tend to have a flat affect(i.e little facial expression). Also they will often have poor posture and look like they are zoned out.

If you talk to them their speech will often be very slow. Thinking about something and responding to something takes alot more mental effort. Everything including talking feels like a chore. You will also often notice changes in appetite( increase or decrease) and changes in sleep patterns (insomnia or sleeping constantly).

Often people who are depressed will lose or gain weight. They might not make eye contact w/ you b/c they feel worthless.

Answer 6

One big sign that noone has mentioned so far is lack of personal care-

Not caring for their appearance (brushing hair, having clean neat clothing etc) as they usually would.

Answer 7

Eye contact and eyes say a lot .  

Answer 8

I'm no expert but you can sometimes tell if someones depressed by their body language and their tone of voice.  

Answer 9

They won't look like they're enjoying their favourite activities as much anymore. When they laugh it might look fake. They may make jokes about death regularly. May ask stuff about going missing, dissapearing, running away, if they died, afterlife and stuff like that.  

Answer 10

Sometimes you can tell when people are sad. They are often less motivated or interested in their usual hobbies. Also, they tend to have very low self esteem.

I have friends whose relatives have committed suicide. Often when someone is this severely depressed they are very good at hiding it from others. No one had a clue they were sad until they took their own lives. Heart breaking. . .